Average Value Of New Car In Ireland Over €30,000

According to Cartell we are spending more on new cars in Ireland than ever before

According to Cartell.ie, the buyer of a new car in Ireland is now purchasing a vehicle worth more than €30,000 on average.

Cartell calculated the total value of new vehicles purchased in Ireland between the years 2006 and 2018 based on the recommended Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) for each vehicle. The total value for each year was divided by the number of new vehicles sold that year to establish the average value per buyer.

Over the years, the average value of a new vehicle purchased in Ireland has fluctuated with the fortunes of the economy. In 2007 at the height of the boom the average value of a vehicle purchased was €28,106. This figure dropped to €24,758 in 2011 and has since increased steadily every year as the economy has improved. In 2016 the average value of a new vehicle was already back to boom time levels at €28,385, while in 2017 the value was up 4% to €29,481.

For the first 6 months of 2018 the average value has hit €30,130. This shows the average Irish buyer is now buying a vehicle worth €30,000 for the first time since Cartell started recording these statistics.

Why has the average value been increasing?

Cartell has considered several possible reasons for the increase in the average value of a private vehicle purchased in Ireland over the last few years.

Consumers may be opting for more expensive vehicles, or more expensive vehicle types like SUVs and Crossover vehicles, or MPV

Buyer has more cash to spend or more available lines of credit. Financial products such as Personal Contract Plans (PCPs) came to prominence in Ireland during the recession as manufacturers sought a means to provide direct lines of credit to potential buyers

Buyers may want larger cars. The country had a recorded population of 4.23 million in Census 2006 which increased to 4.76 million in Census 2016. This increase may have weighed on buyer decisions, for instance, buyers with younger children may need additional space

Vehicles are more expensive to manufacture, to comply with NCAP safety ratings, for example, this increases the cost of manufacture: the consumer now often expects certain higher specification items as standard too – larger wheels, alloys, on-board technology, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features – which all increase the manufacture cost

Increased consumer demand for hybrid vehicles (where technology is more expensive to implement) could be making an impact, along with changes in buyer habits to more environmentally friendly vehicles, and guided generally by the move to city-clean air policies.

Vehicles in the current generation often weigh more than for previous generations to accommodate additional safety systems

John Byrne, Legal and Public Relations Manager, Cartell.ie said:

“The buyer of a new vehicle is getting more features than ever before, more technology, more safety, for example. The buyer has also shown an appetite for other features which manufacturers are increasingly rolling out as standard such as alloy wheels and electric windows. Combined, these features increase manufacturing costs and push average values upwards. The buyer may also be opting for more expensive cars owing to more readily available lines of credit or simply because buyers are keen to buy a larger car when fuel economy and motor taxation figures have dropped so significantly across the board.

Buyers have different buying habits: some will enter the market with an open mind and opt for the best available deal within their budget; while others will be keen to opt for the same manufacturer or the same model.

Remember this study is considering average values of new private vehicles based on the Open Market Selling Price: we are not looking at the price actually paid by the buyer: the actual deals struck between the buyer and the seller will vary widely to account for discounts, sales events, and trade-in values for example.”

Caroline Kidd is the founder and editor of Changing Lanes. She has been writing about cars and the motor industry for over five years and is a juror for Irish Car of the Year. Changing Lanes offers consumers and car enthusiasts a friendly, honest and alternative viewpoint on cars and the motor industry